Top picks
The Rosin Box Project: 'Empower'
Dance, Ballet, Contemporary | Local contemporary ballet company The Rosin Box Project will launch their 2024 season with "Empower," a collection of new works by women choreographers.
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"Typically when we think about classical ballet or contemporary ballet, it's predominantly women, you know, it's a female-dominated industry. However, the reality is that the majority of individuals in administration and executive or in choreographic positions are males," said Carly Topazio, founder of The Rosin Box Project.
One of Topazio's works of choreography will be featured in the show. "Asymptote" is an abstract, mathematically inspired piece that translates lines and parabolas into movement.
Company dancer Bethany Green, known for her theatrical and comedic work, choreographed the piece, "After the Break."
"It is based around the idea of falling asleep in front of a television and how these TV programs influence our dreamscapes and our subconscious while we are dreaming," Topazio said.
Guest choreographer Cherice Barton also has a dance in the production.
Topazio founded The Rosin Box Project in 2018, and the company continues to create vibrant, inventive performances despite a rocky few years for the arts since 2020.
"Art is very much an essential part of our everyday lives, and I think the idea that strangers are only really strangers — you know, we're just separated by one thing, and if we can close that gap, and show that we can connect over many different things, and I feel like art is such a beautiful platform to do that, particularly dance," Topazio said.
Hear more from Topazio about contemporary ballet and the challenges facing the dance world in our KPBS Midday Edition interview here.
Details: Event link. 7:30 p.m. March 21-24 and March 29-30. The Light Box Theater, 2590 Truxtun Rd. #205, Liberty Station. $25-$50.
Space 4 Art Open Studios
Visual art, Music | This season's Open Studios event at the arts and studio/residency hub Space 4 Arts will feature visual artists, live music performances and a special Hindu festival of Holi activity, involving gently throwing colorful powders on willing participants' faces of clothes to celebrate the spring harvest. Performances include Honeymoon, Ciel Bracher, Nick Lesley, Alaric López, Felix Diaz and Drummers Without Borders, Arjun Sejpal, OMNIHARMONIUM and Jonathan Piper. Find the schedule here.
Details: Event link. 6-8:30 p.m. Saturday, March 23. Space 4 Art, 340 16th St., East Village. Free.
Camarada presents: 'Vivaldi's Magic'
Music, Classical | Local chamber ensemble Camarada will center on music by Vivaldi for flute and guitar. Artistic director Beth Ross Buckley is a flutist, and you can always count on a Camarada program to showcase this (generally misunderstood) instrument in surprising and beautiful ways. This weekend, they'll perform Antonio Vivaldi's "La Notte (The Night)," which is a flute concerto. Regional composer (and Camarada performer) Andrés Martín arranged the piece for a contemporary perspective on the classic work.
They'll also perform Mexican composer José Enrique González-Medina’s "Concierto barroco," plus work by J.C. Bach and more.
Details: Event link. 7:30 p.m. March 23 at The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Ave., La Jolla. $38+.
Candlewood Arts Festival
Visual art, Storytelling | The Under The Sun Foundation, which also manages the Galleta Meadows sculptures in Borrego Springs, presents the annual Candlewood Arts Festival in the desert. It's a one-day series of events followed by an extended run of the sculptures, installations and exhibits. This year's artists are Karla Diaz, Jake Frelich, Pearl C. Hsiung, Debra Scacco, and the youth from Borrego Springs High School. The event kicks off with the "Borrego Unity Run: The Performance by Karla Diaz," beginning at Galleta Meadows. Participants can walk, run or take the shuttle bus along the route, and Diaz will lead a "participatory performance" detailing the history of the area.
If you're looking for an artistic excuse to get out to Borrego Springs and hunt for wildflowers, Candlewood Arts Festival might be right up your alley.
Details: Event link. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, March 23. Full schedule and map here and here (PDF). On view through April 14.
'Practice/Practica'
Visual art, Design | Part of World Design Capital 2024 San Diego-Tijuana, this group exhibition spotlights local architects and designers whose work plays with the intersection of material and "social dimensions," or the way that societal factors influence design and use.
Participating designers are Tecture, Guillermo Sepulveda, Miki Iwasaki, Weiszblüth & Brown, Daniel Lopez-Perez & Celine Vargas-Lopez, HELEO, Rob Quigley & Dan Sullivan, RNT Architects, Miller Hull and PALO.
Details: Event link. Opens with a reception from 5-8 p.m. on Thursday, March 21. On view through May 2. Gallery hours are 12-4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. San Diego City College Art Gallery, 1508 C St., Arts & Humanities Bldg. AH314, downtown. Free.
'Musical Reverberations: Farías, Ravel and Tchaikovsky'
Music, Classical | The San Diego Symphony is joined by guest conductor Paolo Bortolameolli and pianist Janice Carissa to perform Ravel's "Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D Major," which was originally commissioned of Ravel by a WWI veteran and concert pianist who lost his right arm in the war.
Also in the program: Tchaikovsky's majestic "Pathétique" symphony and contemporary Chilean composer Miguel Farías' lively, complex and sweeping "Estallido."
Details: Event link. 8 p.m. Friday, March 22. California Center for the Arts, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido. $25-$70.
'Chicken and Biscuits' closing weekend
Theater | This Southern California premiere of Douglas Lyons' play "Chicken and Biscuits" is directed by Kevin "Blax" Burroughs, the new artistic director at Oceanside Theatre Company. The story follows two adult sisters whose relationship is put to the test when they have to bury their father. There's sibling rivalry, religious drama and family secrets, starring Kimberly King, Taylor Renee Henderson, Durwood Murray, Allyce Calloway and many more.
In a director's note, Burroughs said, "'Chicken & Biscuits' is unapologetically Black. The show came at a time on Broadway where there were a record-breaking eight Black playwrights during the season, which in itself was inspirational to me as a Black artist. As I read the show — laughing uncontrollably — that artistic inspiration grew even further."
Details: Event link. On stage through March 24 (no discount on opening night). Performances are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday. Sunshine Brooks Theater, 217 N. Coast Highway, Oceanside. Two tickets for $30 (with the San Diego Theatre Month discount code, "SDTM24").
'The Bigger Picture: Guaranteed Income for the Future of San Diego'
Visual art, Photography | A new stop has been announced for this traveling photography exhibit, featuring 20 oversized photos by documentary photographer Michelle Zousmer. Zousmer photographed families who were part of San Diego's first Guaranteed Income Pilot program, through Jewish Family Service of San Diego, which was launched in 2022. These images are powerful and intimate.
Details: Event link. 2-8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, March 18 through April 8. The Hill Street Country Club, 530 S. Coast Hwy., Oceanside. Free.
AXIS: Poetry in Movement
Theater, Dance, Literature | The Old Globe's AXIS arts engagement series continues with a free outdoor event where regional artists connect dance, poetry and music with workshops, performances and more. AXIS events are family friendly, drop-in, interactive and participatory.
Details: Event link. 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday, March 24. The Old Globe's Copley Plaza, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park. Free.
Live music picks
* denotes local act
Thursday: Slappin' Hands with Ric Scales at Til Two Club (rap, freestyle); Jhariah at Soda Bar (pop); Federico Aubele at Whistle Stop Bar (pop/indie/Latin); Matt Hansen and zachy at House of Blues (pop).
Friday: Small Crush, Raue and Rain on Fridays* at House of Blues (indie); Ricky Montgomery and Noah Floersch at SOMA (alternative); Dolly Ave, Porkboii, Rainbow City Park, The Microblades*, Topeka Clementine* with local vendor fair at Che Cafe (indie); Cumbia Machin, La Cosecha Internacional and more at Corazon del Barrio (cumbia); Mara Kaye, Nathan James and the Good Gravy Boys at Panama 66 (jazz); Ladysmith Black Mambazo at La Jolla Music Society (world).
Saturday: The Farmers*, Blitz Bros*, Joey Harris and The Mentals* at Quartyard (rock); Thumpasaurus and Chiothegod at Casbah (funk, dance, R&B); Jason Joshua with the Sextones at Soda Bar (soul); Mason Jennings and Francis Blume* at Belly Up (folk); KMFDM at Observatory (industrial/metal); Chaz Cabrera Big Band at Dizzy's (jazz).
Sunday: Ricky*, Mutt, Decent Criminal and Lose* at Casbah (punk); The Halluci Nation at Soda Bar (dance/electronic); Gino Rosaria and Rebecca Jade at Humphreys Backstage (jazz); Mehro and King Isis at House of Blues (indie); Thra, Bluntsplitter* and Philosopher at Brick by Brick (metal); Lyle Lovett at The Magnolia (country); Chelsea Cutler and Yoke Lore at SOMA (pop, indie); Whitney Shay at Panama 66 (jazz).
